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Melaka International Bowling Center open and looking forward to the Bowling World Cup

2009 BWC

The Melaka International Bowling Center was officially opened for business last month by the Chief Minister of Melaka, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam, and now all involved are looking forward to welcoming bowlers from around the world in mid-November for the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.

George Heng, the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress vice-president, presented the Center with a certificate to recognize that, with 52 lanes, it is the largest Center in Malaysia.

The lanes are in two sets of 26 with a roomy concourse between them. It is an ultra-modern, two-storey building with space allocated to kiosks on the ground floor. It is also designed to be friendly to wheelchair users with facilities including a special lane for wheelchairs on the staircase. The first floor boasts restaurants, a media-cum-conference room and ball storage.

As for the tournament, 90 countries have now indicated that they will be sending representatives.

Photos courtesy of S.Thinakaran. Click on the images to enlarge.

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Names to Date

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Countries

Men

Women

Argentina

Jonathan Hocsman

Azerbaijan

Elkhan Feyzullayev

Belgium

Olivier Leroy

Katrien Goossens

Canada

Michael Schmidt

Caroline Lagrange

Costa Rica

Andres Fallas

Viviana Delgado

Denmark

Thomas Larsen

Pia Burkal

Egypt

Samy-Anna Saba

England

Darren Cundy

Zara Glover

Finland

Ari Savola

Reija Lunden

France

Francois Sacco

French Guiana

Maurice Talane

Germany

David Canady

Tina Hulsch

Gibraltar

Michael Wood

Guernsey

Derek Tomlin

Danielle Le Couvey

Iceland

Arnar Saebergsson

Iraq

Shant Panos Tomassian

Italy

Torregrossa Letizia

Kazakhstan

Makhmut Iskhakov

Irina Lazaridi

Lithuania

Dovydas Dusevińćius

Daiva Perminiene

Malaysia

Zulmazran Zulkifli

Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman

Moldova

Nikolay Babyuk

Uliana Grosu

New Caledonia

Marin Tranier

Northern Ireland

Kevin Horton

Karen Payne

Norway

Petter Hansen

Pakistan

Ijaz Ur Rehman

Janet Abril

Panama

Miguel Fonseca

Yvette Chen

Portugal

Nuno Martinho

Ana Viera

Scotland

Mark Kerr

Laura Rhoney

Sweden

Martin Larsen

Malin Glendert

Syria

Bashar Kalaji

United States

Walter Ray Williams Jr.

Tennelle Milligan

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Despite their outstanding international record over the years, no Malaysian bowler has ever won the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup. Could this change this year?

The big news for the host country is that Zulmazran Zulkifli (pictured left), third-place finisher last year in Hermosillo, Mexico, who also hit a perfect game there, will be participating again. He also took part in 2002 in Riga, Latvia where he finished 10th, and he will surely rank among one of the favorites to carry off the title.

He will be joined by Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman (right) in the women's section. Siti won the Women's World Ranking Masters title this year and is the current Malaysian national champion. She was only 15 when she played in the Bowling World Cup for the first time, in 2006, in Caracas, Venezuela, finishing 10th.

She will be up against the third-place finisher from last year, England's Zara Glover (left), a former world champion, and Tina Hulsch (right) of Germany, who also came third in 2007 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

They will all be looking out for Scotland's Laura Rhoney, who will be making her 8th appearance in the event and who finished fourth in 2006, when her perfect game won her the high game of the tournament trophy.

But one of the stars they will all want to see will be the Team USA's Walter Ray Williams Jr. (left) With a record 45 PBA titles to his name, he has been inducted into both the USBC and the PBA Hall of Fame and was voted PBA Player of the Year record six times. He will be joined by Tennelle Milligan (right), who won three silver (Trios, Team, All Events) and two bronze medals (Doubles, Masters) in the 2007 Women's World Championships.

The qualifying rounds for this year's event start on 16th November with the finals on 19th. It is expected that the finals will be live on Malaysian television.